dress & jacket

Christian Dior, Paris 1947 - 1957

Summary

Dress and jacket in red and black chine silk in a design of black chrysanthemums or dahlias on a red ribbed faille ground. Simple sleeveless shift dress with matching short boxy jacket with bracelet length sleeves, 3 self covered buttons, turn down circular collar and 2 very shallow patch pockets. Both garments lined in pale red silk. Woven labels: 'Christian Dior, Automne/Hiver 1957', and stamped '090052' in jacket and '090053' in dress. The outfit is a model costume named: 'Automne' and the catwalk costume was in a brown and black, rather than red and black print.

Display Label

Crisp, black grosgrain silk gives a sharp definition to this stylish if deceptively simple cocktail dress which still looks back to a 1950s silhouette. However, its neat unfussy lines are created and supported by a complicated understructure using stiffened black net, boning, foam bust padding and a layered underskirt. Elegant but unfussy, this dress exemplifies Dior's 1954 declaration that "a little black frock is essential to a woman's wardrobe". In 1947, Christian Dior staked his place in fashion history with his famous "New Look", featuring sloping shoulders, nipped-in waists and voluminous skirts. His new, romantic styles marked a sudden end to the angular, fabric-saving designs that had dominated women's fashion during World War II and in the immediate aftermath. The two outfits below are both designed by Dior, the first in 1953 and called 'James'; and the second in autumn/winter 1957, Dior's last collection, called 'Automne'. The Christian Dior label continued to prosper after the designer's death in 1957 under the leadership of Yves Saint Laurent from 1958 to 1960. This dress is from YSL's last collection before Marc Bohan took over for a 30 year spell at the House.